


Day 12 : Sparkle

by TT40_Angst_Queen



Series: My NCIS Holiday Themes 2017 [12]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-12
Packaged: 2019-02-13 20:07:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12991581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TT40_Angst_Queen/pseuds/TT40_Angst_Queen
Summary: It would be the first Christmas Gibbs had ever had without some kind of family out there in the world.





	Day 12 : Sparkle

The repetitive movements of sanding the ribs of his boat calmed Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The push-pull movements of the sander block calmed his ever raging thoughts and overworked emotions. The rasping sound of Gibbs’ own two hand building something so special to his heart never failed to put Gibbs into an almost drugged-like state of relaxation, other then the few and far between moments when even the boat and a bottle of bourbon couldn’t help him. Tonight it seemed to be a mix of the two. While he felt moderately calm, thoughts of the upcoming Holiday made Gibbs feel both anxious and uncertain; It would be the first Christmas Gibbs had ever had without some kind of family out there in the world. Even when he wasn’t talking to his dad- and oh, how he wished he hadn’t wasted so much lost years being angry at his father- he knew that Jackson Gibbs was only a phone call and a couple hours drive away. 

 

Now that his father had passed away, Gibbs had lost the very last of his family, and he felt lost. At work, he constantly heard everyone’s plans for their Christmas Holidays, even Tony sounded excited that Senior would be picking him up to spend the Holidays in Rome. Hell, even Ducky was taking his brother to a trip to England. 

 

Gibbs was alone. 

 

Not that it was anything new, but lately, it seemed to bother him more than usual- his empty house with it’s emptier rooms. The usual solitude he craved had become filled with loneliness and longing. His usual lifestyle that he had been content to live with after the deaths of his wife and daughter had died no longer made him content. He felt restless, lonely, and old. For the first time in many years, Gibbs felt his age. He felt every bit of the age his wrinkles and white hair showed. His hair was no longer salt and pepper, and now looked more salt than pepper. 

 

Abby had commented a few weeks ago that his eyes had seem to have lost the sparkle they usually had. Not to his face, but he had overheard her talking to Bishop about it. He could tell that his newest agent that had been with them only two years could even tell that something was different. 

 

That’s when he knew that something had to give. What, he didn’t know- but the other shoe from the steel toed boot was gonna drop, and Gibbs was worried that his team was going to be right underneath that giant boot. He knew that he wouldn’t endanger his team, he was still laser focused and damn good at his job, as usual. His gut was still working at full throttle and pinpoint accuracy, but his emotional health… he knew his team was laser-focused on him to the point of over-protective. They had been ever since he started to change, and Tony seemed to be the most focused and protective over him. Even a perceived threat to Gibbs’ health, whether it was a physical act of aggression or a dig to his emotional past or present made Tony respond with almost animal like aggression. It was both heartwarming and worrying- Gibbs was worried that it would get Tony either hurt or in trouble, or worse. 

 

He just wanted that sparkle in his eyes back…

 

“You’ll never guess what my father called to tell me, Boss,”  Tony’s voice came down to his ears, and he looked up to see Tony’s exasperated face and knew that once again, Senior had disappointed Tony. 

 

“-not really surprising, but hey, you’ve been more of a father to me then him, and you  _ did _ say your door was always open. Thought I’d spend Christmas with the guy that taught me more than  _ he  _ ever did-” Listening to Tony’s rambles, Gibbs found himself smiling, and felt a bit of the loneliness and emptiness in his heart abade.

 

Maybe that sparkle could be recaptured, after all.    


End file.
